Tibetan dog "stick" pocket flail

[ausjulius]

I purchased several of these in Ganan, a Tibetan city Gansu province in western china.
I've seen these on Tibetans belts in photographs, sometimes with a bunch of keys, typically on a leather thong and had not deduced they were weapons.
Anyway these come in many sizes, madd of brass or steel. The cord is leather, fiber or a twisted chain. Leather is most common.
They are a weapon for self defence the literal translation of the weapons name is "dog stick" there is a less lethal version made of heavy wood like a nunchuck with a long cord 60 cm or 70 cm long used like a whip to strike yaks and other livestock we herding that could be quite lethal to a human or dog. Some are iron shod
I imagine this is where the "stick" part of the name comes from.
I have attached one I own and then several images of different styles from the Chinese internets..
There was once actual fighting styles to used this for defence by its self and with a knife and other techniques with demonstrations of skill in using the dog stick and sling and bow once common and gatherings.
It's use is generally striking to the neck and head of the opponent. Bug as it can be in a rome or pocket there was techniques that in a confined space or sitting down could flick it our or throw it to strick an adversaries face .
The thing is shirt.. 30-50 cm long at most.

It's heavy enough to kill with a single blow if brough down on your head.
It's curious to note if you look closely many Tibetans carried these until not that long ago. As well as knives or daggers but we look more at the daggers and totally miss these..